User:Mackenziekanach/sandbox

Dr. Harold Jay Dunlap (May 24, 1904 - April 4, 1978) was an American surgeon and Bronze Star-recipient, serving New Rochelle, New York for 39 years. He served as a member of the Army Medical Corps during World War II, during which he. Over the span of his decades-long medical career, Dunlap served as Director of Surgery for New Rochelle Medical Hospital, President of the Westchester County Medical Society, and a delegate to the New York State Medical Society.

Personal Life and Education
Born on May 24, 1904 in Canton, Ohio, Harold Dunlap grew up on a small farm to parents John J. and Emma Potter Dunlap. He was one of seven children and was the only one of his siblings to graduate college. In 1927, Dunlap graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, OH with a Bachelor of Science, and he continued his education at Western Reserve Medical School (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1931, he obtained a degree of M.D. . He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Nu Sigma Nu. Furthermore, he interned and completed his residency at Grasslands Hospital (now Westchester Medical Center) in Valhalla, New York between 1931 and 1937.

In March 1928, Dunlap got engaged to Marguerite "Peg" Scranton of Alliance, Ohio. Scranton herself obtained a Bachelors degree from Mount Union College, followed by a nursing degree in 1934 from Bishop Johnson College in Los Angeles, California. They married after her education was complete, wedding on April 6, 1935 in Greenwich, Connecticut. The pair moved to New Rochelle, New York in 1937, before residing in the Larchmont Woods neighborhood as of March 1955. Both Dunlap and Scranton were proud Presbyterians and active in their church and communities. They were members of the First Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle. Harold J. Dunlap acted as an Elder here, while Marguerite participated in the Women's Guild, acting as first vice president and president, and Mother's Club there. The pair were featured many times in New Rochelle's The Standard Star, both for their social appearances and their philanthropic contributions to the town through various clubs and organizations that they were a part of.The two remained married until Dunlap's passing in 1978. Together, they had three children: George, Harold Jr., and Betsy. They also had a collie named Honey.

After Harold's retirement in 1976, he and Scranton moved to Pompano Beach, Florida. There, they were members of the Westkirk Presbyterian Church. On April 4, 1978, Dr. Harold J. Dunlap passed away at the age of 73 in Pompano Beach, Fl. His funeral services were attended by anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 people, as his services to his various communities were appreciated by so many.

Military Service
Between April 25, 1941 to January 7, 1946, Dr. Harold J. Dunlap served in the Army Medical Corps for the United States. He ranked as a colonel, serving briefly at Fort Dix in New Jersey in the Tilden General Hospital, before being sent overseas on active duty orders in the European Theater of World War II. At Tilden, he held high rank as Chief of Surgery, which he carried into Europe as a consultant. There, he acted as a surgeon in Belgium, England, France, and Holland. He treated several notable soldiers during his time overseas, and often times, as an offer of gratitude, Dunlap would be given keepsakes from patients, which he brought back to America. Most of these keepsakes were military memorabilia that patients collected during their time in service.

He was awarded the American Theater Ribbon and the European Ribbon for his contributions in World War II. In addition to this, Dunlap was awarded a Bronze Star by General Leonard T. Gerow for his meritorious achievement on December 28, 1944, when the SS Empire Javelin was struck by an enemy torpedo in the English Channel. His return to America was expedited by an Honorary Relief from Active Duty. Afterwards, he returned to New Rochelle to continue his contribution to the surgical team at the New Rochelle Medical Hospital. For 25 years after he arrived in America after the war, he acted as an Army Reservist.

Medical Career
After completing his residency in 1937, Dr. Harold J. Dunlap began his 39-year-long career in New Rochelle on staff at the New Rochelle Medical Hospital. In 1939, he became an adjunct surgeon, and in 1941, he was promoted to associate surgeon. In 1959, Dunlap became the Director of Surgery at the New Rochelle Medical Hospital. In 1964, he stepped down as Director of Surgery to become a consultant for the surgical department, adding residency students and his fellow staff. After many years of dedication to his work and community, Dunlap was named Director Surgery Emeritus in 1973 and remained as such until his retirement. Between his work with New Rochelle Medical Hospital, Dunlap assisted at Grasslands Hospital, Lawrence Hospital (now NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester), and Mount Vernon Hospital.

By 1962, Dunlap had become a beacon in his profession, holding acting roles on several committees and boards in New York and the country, such as: diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, 1959 President of the Westchester County Medical Society, member and delegate of the New York State Medical Society Board of Directors, and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He also served on the Medical Board at the New Rochelle Medical Hospital in 1951, 1952, and from 1958 to 1964. In 1956, he was chairman of the New Rochelle Physicians' Committee for Eisenhower and Nixon. He was the New Rochelle Red Cross Disaster Medical Director in 1960. His long-lasting impact on New Rochelle's medical community was reflected in his becoming an Honorary Staff member after his retirement in 1976. Dunlap was a proponent of medical education and was outspoken about the rise of health insurance, access to healthcare, and access for all Americans to obtain a degree in medicine or nursing.

Over the course of his medical career (both militarily and otherwise), Dunlap operated on several notable people, many of whom were from New Rochelle. The list includes, but is not limited to: Buffalo Bob Smith, Richard Roundtree, Molly Guion, Walter Kerr and Jean Kerr, Bob Keeshan, Alex Quaison-Sackey, Walter Slezak, Louis Nizer, Arthur Murray, Norman Kent, Allie Sherman, Theodore G. Ehrsam, Louis Rukeyser, and Ugo Mochi. As a thank-you, Buffalo Bob Smith took Dunlap and his son George deep-sea fishing. To honor his medical accomplishments and skill, Alex Quaison-Sackey hosted Dunlap and his wife at a party at the United Nations. Throughout his career, Dunlap refused to deny anybody medical care, regardless of their access to healthcare, their status, or their condition. Because of this, Dunlap was not only respected in the community, but he was often the recipient of gifts and favors at the hands of patients. On numerous occasions, his sons would be sent to pick up laundry and dry cleaning, pies, or other goods as a payment for the services his father performed. In addition to his sacrifice to the community, it is said that Dr. Dunlap performed a number of high-risk surgeries, including one on a patient with an hourglass stomach and an abdominal pregnancy in which both the mother and child survived, which was a rare feat for the time. Dunlap also traveled beyond New York to speak to medical students and communities about his work.